Assignment Record– Rev. Bernard St. Hilaire

Summary of Case: Bernard St. Hilaire was ordained for the Boston archdiocese in 1951. He worked in parishes in Marlboro, Lowell, Lynn, Beverly, Salem, Middleboro and in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood. He went on health leave in December 1968 and died in July 1977. St. Hilaire is said to have sexually abused convicted pedophile priest, Ronald Paquin, beginning when Paquin was a teenager and lasting "many, many years." A victim of Paquin reported that he was also abused by St. Hilaire.

Born: 1924
Ordained: 1951
Died: July 12, 1977

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
4/25/51 10/2/51 St. Mary's Marlboro MA assistant  

10/03/51

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

10/11/53 St. Louis (French)

Lowell

• Convicted pedophile priest, Ronald Paquin told archdiocesan officials in the 1990s that St. Hilaire sexually abused him when beginning when Paquin was a teen. Paquin told news reporters in 2002 that the abuse by St. Hilaire "lasted many, many years." A Paquin victim told the archdiocese that Paquin said he and St. Hilaire shared a bed for thirty years. (Boston Herald
May 31, 2002)

MA 4/4

Parish had a grade school with 406-408 boys and 427-378 girls, and a high school with 56-74 girls.

Paquin pleaded guilty to child rape in December 2002 and was sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.

10/12/53 2/15/60 St. John the Baptist Lynn MA 4/4, 3/4 Parish had a grade school with 227-266 boys and 186-223 boys, and a high school with 58-78 boys and 60-124 girls.
2/16/60 2/12/62 St. Alphonse's (French) Beverly MA 2/2  
2/13/62 3/23/66 St. Anne's (French) Salem MA 3/3, 2/3 Parish had a school with 199-187 boys and 214-176 girls.
3/24/66 1/08/68 Sacred Heart Middleboro MA 2/3  
1/09/68 11/30/68 St. Angela's Boston (Mattapan) MA 3/4

Parish had a school with 187-179 boys and 171-156 girls.

St. Hilaire is indexed in the 1969 Directory as at St. Angela's, but is not listed there in the Boston archdiocesan pages.

12/01/68

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

7/11/77 Sick Leave

 

• A victim of Paquin was also repeatedly sexually abused by St. Hilaire, per a 2004 settlement. (Boston Herald
January 15, 2004)

   

 

 

 

 

St. Hilaire died July 12, 1977


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1952-1978); Hilaire Assignment Record, Archdiocese of Boston

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates St. Hilaire's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on November 3, 2015.